Page 105 of Chasing the Rush
“Sorry.”
Sharks and snakes. The man who fearlessly hits the gridiron every week is deeply terrified of both.
“I feel like it bears repeating,” Luca says, “but I wish you never would have—”
“Brought my ring on the trip. I know. But how could I leave my pretty bauble behind, when it’s become my entire personality?”
Luca chuckles. Right after he proposed last month, I immediately started doing all sorts of silly bits with my left hand, all of them designed to put my gorgeous diamond front and center in highly awkward and unnatural ways.Oh, you want to know where I left the scissors? Over there, my darling—right where my sparkling diamond is pointing the way. Oh, you’re feeling a bit sleepy? Me, too, my darling. Yawn. Sparkle. Wink.
The bit is especially hilarious when performed with a rock the size of Rhode Island. Seriously, the diamond Luca gave me looks like it should be worn by a famous movie star on a red carpet. Or by the wife of a superstar player like Iris. But that’s Luca for you. He goes big in everything he does, thanks to his favorite mantra: “How you do anything is how you do everything.”
Take Luca’s proposal, for example. I thought I was bringing my boyfriend home to our off-season family home in Columbus for a simple Sunday night dinner with the fam. But what I got instead was my surprise engagement party, attended by every person who’s ever loved me, besides Roman, Iris, and Maverick. Those three all wanted to be there, of course. We’ve all felt like family for quite some time by now. But unfortunately, Satan’s team had just advanced to the Super Bowl by then.For a second time.Fucking hell.So, Satan was kind of busy getting ready for that. But other than those three, everyone else most important to me was standing in my parents’ living room when I opened their front door.
Confused at the sight of all those familiar faces smiling atme, I turned to look at Luca standing behind me with a question on my face, and that’s when my sweet boyfriend sank to his knee on my parents’ porch, held up that breathtaking ring, and begged me to become his wife. When I shrieked out my yes—the easiest yes of my life—Luca slid that massive rock onto my finger, followed by his treasured mathlete medal over my head, and gave me the kiss of a lifetime.
It was a perfect proposal. Emotional and magical. And I know everybody witnessing it felt that way, too. Even Lincoln looked teary-eyed when he hugged us both afterward. Although, full disclosure, when I said, “Hey, Linc, I guess this means Roman Maguire’s going to be your brother-in-law, huh?” he gruffly snapped at me to “shut the fuck up.” But even that retort was a fabulous moment for me. I’ve never laughed so hard in all my life.
Later that night, when Luca and I were alone in my childhood bedroom, I gushed to my new fiancé about his proposal, the party, and the ring, but I also mentioned my concern that he’d spent way too much on my flashy diamond.
“Do you like it?” he asked.
“I love it. But—”
“Then that’s the end of the discussion,” he declared. “I’m a high roller now, baby. What else is all my superstar money for, if not to spend it on my fated mate?”
What could I say to that? Nothing. So, I fucked his brains out and let it go.
Luca’s not Roman when it comes to the zeroes in his bank account. But who is? Also, he’s not quite the “superstar” he claimed to be, either, though he’s certainly well on his way. Once Moriarty got traded to the Admirals in a blockbuster deal right before the trade deadline last season, Luca became the Mastodons’ biggest star, and he’s been expertly parlaying that popularity into an even bigger, national profile. Indeed,Luca’s becoming so in demand these days as one of the most liked and recognized players in the NFL, the Mastodons recently sealed a multiyear deal with him intended to keep him in blue and black for many years to come.
Luca was beyond thrilled when he inked his long-term deal with the team, obviously, since he loves playing for the Mighty Mastodons with all his heart. But his new deal was equally thrilling for me, too, not only because I love him, but because it meant I can continue working alongside my father and boyfriend—sorry, myfiancé—and also for Ginny, too, without any kind of long-distance situation with Luca ruining our fun.
After the roaring success of my first season as a dynamic duo with Ginny, she recently gave me the green light to hire three new people for my analytics department during the off-season, with all of them reporting to me. And not only that, but Bellamy has become pretty tolerable to me. He’s still not my favorite person, but he’s also not quite as big a blowhard as I originally thought. Once he started showing me genuine respect and actually listening to me in meetings, thanks to Ginny, I slowly let my guard down and returned the favor. The result has been a slowly formed professional relationship that’s working for the benefit our mutual goal: making the Mastodons as great as they can be so we can make a run for the Super Bowl in the very near future.
“You’re thinking about football, aren’t you?” Luca murmurs, drawing me out of my thoughts.
“No, I’m thinking about how much I love you.Andfootball.”
Laughing, he kisses me again. And predictably, that one kiss leads to lots more. But before we get too hot and heavy out here in this ocean, we’re interrupted by the sound of Luca’s mom calling to us from the sandy shore.
“Hey, lovebirds!” Ava says. When we break apart to lookat her, my future mother-in-law raises the colorful cocktail in her hand, whoops, and performs a cute little shimmy. “Come to the beach! It’s Fiji Bowl time!”
“No tackling; tag only,” Roman barks to his family members and closest friends assembled on the private beach he’s rented for the week. He tousles his son’s dark mop. “Unless, of course, you’re Mavvy, in which case you can do anything you want to take anyone down.”
Little Maverick fist-pumps, and everyone laughs at his adorableness.
Roman motions to Iris, who’s in a beach chair with a hand on her tiny baby bump. “Even without my secret weapon at QB this time, I still vote that all the same rules as last time apply again, including only women playing at quarterback. Everyone cool with that?”
Several people murmur that sounds great to them, but Luca raises his hand.
“Since we’ve got a newbie here …” He jerks his chin toward me. “We should probably go over the full list of rules.”
“You don’t remember all of them, do you?” Levi deadpans.
“Not a single one.” Luca laughs. “I think I’d imbibed more than a few rum punches when we played last time.”
“Whoop!” Ava says, raising her colorful beverage, and everyone chuckles.
Roman looks at Levi. “Do you remember all the rules we came up with, Evil Levi? Your brain’s a steel trap.”
